Parallel Bible results for "2 corinthians 11"

2 Corinthians 11

New Living Translation NLT

1 I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me.

2 For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride to one husband—Christ.

3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent.

4 You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.

5 But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things.

6 I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.

7 Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return?

8 I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost.

9 And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be.

10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece will ever stop me from boasting about this.

11 Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.

12 But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours.

13 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ.

14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

16 Again I say, don’t think that I am a fool to talk like this. But even if you do, listen to me, as you would to a foolish person, while I also boast a little.

17 Such boasting is not from the Lord, but I am acting like a fool.

18 And since others boast about their human achievements, I will, too.

19 After all, you think you are so wise, but you enjoy putting up with fools!

20 You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face.

21 I’m ashamed to say that we’ve been too “weak” to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about—I’m talking like a fool again—I dare to boast about it, too.

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

23 Are they servants of Christ? I know I sound like a madman, but I have served him far more! I have worked harder, been put in prison more often, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again.

24 Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes.

25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea.

26 I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not.

27 I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

28 Then, besides all this, I have the daily burden of my concern for all the churches.

29 Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?

30 If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am.

31 God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise, knows I am not lying.

32 When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas kept guards at the city gates to catch me.

33 I had to be lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall to escape from him.

The Message Bible MSG

1 Will you put up with a little foolish aside from me? Please, just for a moment.

2 The thing that has me so upset is that I care about you so much - this is the passion of God burning inside me! I promised your hand in marriage to Christ, presented you as a pure virgin to her husband.

3 And now I'm afraid that exactly as the Snake seduced Eve with his smooth patter, you are being lured away from the simple purity of your love for Christ.

4 It seems that if someone shows up preaching quite another Jesus than we preached - different spirit, different message - you put up with him quite nicely.

5 But if you put up with these big-shot "apostles," why can't you put up with simple me? I'm as good as they are.

6 It's true that I don't have their voice, haven't mastered that smooth eloquence that impresses you so much. But when I do open my mouth, I at least know what I'm talking about. We haven't kept anything back. We let you in on everything.

7 I wonder, did I make a bad mistake in proclaiming God's Message to you without asking for something in return, serving you free of charge so that you wouldn't be inconvenienced by me?

8 It turns out that the other churches paid my way so that you could have a free ride.

9 Not once during the time I lived among you did anyone have to lift a finger to help me out. My needs were always supplied by the Christians from Macedonia province. I was careful never to be a burden to you, and I never will be, you can count on it.

10 With Christ as my witness, it's a point of honor with me, and I'm not going to keep it quiet just to protect you from what the neighbors will think.

11 It's not that I don't love you; God knows I do.

12 I'm just trying to keep things open and honest between us.

13 They're a sorry bunch - pseudo-apostles, lying preachers, crooked workers - posing as Christ's agents but sham to the core.

14 And no wonder! Satan does it all the time, dressing up as a beautiful angel of light.

15 So it shouldn't surprise us when his servants masquerade as servants of God. But they're not getting by with anything. They'll pay for it in the end. Many a Long and Lonely Night

16 Let me come back to where I started - and don't hold it against me if I continue to sound a little foolish. Or if you'd rather, just accept that I am a fool and let me rant on a little.

17 I didn't learn this kind of talk from Christ.

18 Oh, no, it's a bad habit I picked up from the three-ring preachers that are so popular these days.

19 Since you sit there in the judgment seat observing all these shenanigans, you can afford to humor an occasional fool who happens along.

20 You have such admirable tolerance for impostors who rob your freedom, rip you off, steal you blind, put you down - even slap your face!

21 I shouldn't admit it to you, but our stomachs aren't strong enough to tolerate that kind of stuff.

22 Do they brag of being Hebrews, Israelites, the pure race of Abraham? I'm their match.

23 Are they servants of Christ? I can go them one better. (I can't believe I'm saying these things. It's crazy to talk this way! But I started, and I'm going to finish.)

24 I've been flogged five times with the Jews' thirty-nine lashes,

25 beaten by Roman rods three times, pummeled with rocks once. I've been shipwrecked three times, and immersed in the open sea for a night and a day.

26 In hard traveling year in and year out, I've had to ford rivers, fend off robbers, struggle with friends, struggle with foes. I've been at risk in the city, at risk in the country, endangered by desert sun and sea storm, and betrayed by those I thought were my brothers.

27 I've known drudgery and hard labor, many a long and lonely night without sleep, many a missed meal, blasted by the cold, naked to the weather.

28 And that's not the half of it, when you throw in the daily pressures and anxieties of all the churches.

29 When someone gets to the end of his rope, I feel the desperation in my bones. When someone is duped into sin, an angry fire burns in my gut.

30 If I have to "brag" about myself, I'll brag about the humiliations that make me like Jesus.

31 The eternal and blessed God and Father of our Master Jesus knows I'm not lying.

32 Remember the time I was in Damascus and the governor of King Aretas posted guards at the city gates to arrest me?

33 I crawled through a window in the wall, was let down in a basket, and had to run for my life.